DOCTORS AND HAS HELPED’

How will this crisis change our NHS? “I think it will change a lot. It’s like in war there are also a lot of innovations.

“If you look up a lot of advances in technology it often comes with conflict.

“From the use of helicopters in the Vietnam War, tanks coming in during the First World War and missile guidance systems in the Gulf war.

“I am doing loads of meetings every day through Skype. I think it will change the way that consultations are done.

“My wife is a GP and she is doing loads more consultations by video.

“I think it will change how we access healthcare. I think we will go back to a face-to-face model because that is the best way of doing things but there will be a lot more.

“We have got iPads where you can send links to anybody and they don’t need a program.

“We have been able to do this so people have been able to see their relatives in ITU, that has been a game changer for us.

“I think intensive care will see a benefit in that people will realise how vital the intensive care services are. Traditionally, we have really been the poor man of Europe in terms of intensive care beds.

“When you look at Italy, who had 12 per 100,000 before the crisis and we are somewhere around three in Wales.

Do you think people should be donating money to the NHS?

“It is a good question. If the NHS was properly funded we wouldn’t have to do that would we?

“The amount of support we have had from the public has been amazing and it has been a real morale booster especially when it was really tough.

“When we’d come out of PPE after six hours and there was some hot food waiting for us from a local takeaway it was absolutely brilliant.

“It wasn’t a grand gesture but it was absolutely what we needed.

“I think that the core NHS services should be provided by people’s taxes and the Government. We shouldn’t really need to be funding that through charitable sources.

“There are a lot of things that could be funded like food banks and the Trussell

Trust who work on homelessness.

“There are people who have lost their careers and as a society we should be lending a hand to them if we are lending a hand to anyone – the people who are struggling to feed their families and are without jobs because of the situation.

“It’s great the amount of support we get and I wouldn’t want to knock it. But if people are going to reach into their pockets and give money, think about how you could give local.

“A lot of the food banks are running empty at the moment because their donations have dropped off.

“We are not being heroic by doing what we do. This is what I have been doing since 1995 since I went to medical school.

“We knew one day this would happen. We hoped it wouldn’t do, but it has.

“I’m not saying it hasn’t been tough, it has been incredibly tough, but everybody in the NHS and knew what they signed up for.

“The biggest thing people can do is keep up a lockdown.

“It’s the biggest favour they can do. it’s the only thing that has works.

“You could argue till the cows come home depending on your political point of view whether nurses or doctors are paid enough. But the fact of the matter is we are doing a lot better than other people at the minute.”

What has been your stand-out moment so far?

“It was our first patient Scott went home. “He was desperately ill. It puts all the hardship and the long nights, the no-sleep and all the discomfort into perspective when you see him getting home to his wife and his daughter. If we only saved him it would almost all be worth it anyway. He is a young man and his daughter is the same age as mine.”

Why was Gwent hit so hard?

“I have no idea. I think part of it was bad luck probably. We were early cases and I think we were among the first to have anyone in which suggests it was at large in the community a bit earlier in Newport.”

Have you had any children with coronavirus in the ITU?

“We haven’t seen children thank god. “At the start we were very worried about if we got lots of kids because that would be a completely different situation, but thankfully we haven’t.”

Have you had enough PPE?

“We’ve had no problem at all with PPE, we have been very very lucky.

“I’ve heard all sorts of stories come from other hospitals especially in England. We’ve been lucky that we have always had enough gear.

“We have had lots of really generous donations like the Royal Mint gave us loads of visors which was really helpful.

“I guess in ITU we are in a privileged position because we are top of the tree in terms of priority.”

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